Sessions Reportedly Leading Candidate For Secretary Of Defense

According to Politico, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, has become the leading contender for secretary of defense in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

While Sessions was one of Trump’s earliest and most vocal supporters who seems to be in lockstep with the billionaire on immigration, the two men do have their disagreements.

Trump has promised an increase in defense spending of $55 billion, while Sessions has called for reigning in military spending.

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Trump made his opposition to the Iraq War a centerpiece of his campaign against the Republican establishment, but Sessions not only voted for the war, he also voted repeatedly against withdrawing troops from the region.

“The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world. I frankly don’t know what they represent, other than to blame America first,” Sessions said at a rally in Washington, D.C. defending the invasion of Iraq and putting down those who had been protesting it.

Sessions has also voted to expand NATO, an organization Trump has said he would like the United States to leave.

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Though Trump has vowed to make caring for veterans a priority, Sessions was one of only three senators to vote against additional funding for the VA medical system, citing cost concerns.

On the campaign trail, Trump was highly critical of U.S. involvement in Libya, but Sessions supported an American-backed regime change there.

Sessions has been more skeptical of intervention in Syria, saying in 2013, “Certainly the American people are correct to be concerned about our position in the Middle East, particularly our seeming lack of any clear strategy or purpose.”

He has also been highly critical of President Obama’s plan to allow thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States, a position shared by the president-elect.

“Despite a clear nexus between immigration and terrorism, and warnings from top officials in his own administration about their inability to properly vet refugees, President Obama remains in denial ‎about the dangers that his policies pose to the United States,” Sessions said in August.

He continued, “Instead of taking a sober assessment of the ‎dangers that we face, and analyzing the immigration histories of recent terrorists so that we can more effectively safeguard our immigration system from being infiltrated, the Obama administration leads the United States down a dangerous path – admitting as many refugees as possible from areas of the world where terrorists roam freely, and granting a temporary amnesty to Syrians living in the United States illegally. And contrary to the assertions made by many, the potential for future terror activity is real.”

The Republican national security establishment is reportedly expected to push for former Bush administration national security adviser Stephen Hadley instead of Sessions.

Hadley did not criticize Trump throughout the campaign, and has a well-respected track record on the international stage, starting as deputy to Condoleezza Rice and then overseeing several key components of Bush’s foreign policy.

“Everyone I am talking to is saying they will consider [joining] but only if it’s a serious (Secretary of Defense). … We need to work for someone we trust and would be proud of,” one Republican defense official told Politico, expressing concern about a Sessions appointment.

Sessions hasn’t spoken publicly about the issue yet but is said to be a lock for a cabinet position of some sort if he wants one.
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